Letter to your MP (UK)

[dnakr]

No doubt once our government gets involved we are all doomed.

I would rather sneak hits from my e-cig - then go outside and smoke a real one.

[TheEmperorOfIceCream]

I am that foolish person, TB!

I go out of my way to publicise this thing and puff it into shared air. Way I figure it, if I'm getting their halitosis, they can have my vapour. I can only see good results from it becoming well known. I should note that for me, good results are reliable devices and liquid of unquestionable provenance. This I think will follow greater awareness of the product. I know the gov will take a bite out of the collective e-smoking ass and it will probably be huge but I'm prepared for that (see it as the wages of my own stupidity in getting hooked on nic in the first place).

I'm even considering trying to get on Big Brother and taking a pen-style along with me. For those of you who don't know what BB is, lucky you. It's a reality show in Europe where horrible people are isolated in a house and mentally abuse each other over several weeks until only one is left. One of the organisers' tortures is to withhold cigarettes from the smokers in the house, or worse, let them have cigarettes but no lighter.

The show gets millions of viewers and e-cigs would undoubtedly get major exposure. Just don't know if endorsement from a Jade Goody clone would do us any good...

Emp

[elixir]

If you think big brother is not aware of the existence of the electronic cigarette here is a previous post of mine.

[FEB .2008 - After introducing the electronic cigarette to my web site http://www.elixirshop.com a couple of months ago I have heard nothing but praise from customers telling me how this product has helped them cut down or quit smoking. It warms the heart to think you are selling something that is doing people good.

Then this morning in my mail I receive a letter and a rather large publication from the MHRA (Medicine and Health product Regulatory Agency) stating they had received a complaint (anonymous of course) about the electronic cigarette.

They now require samples, advertising literature and a whole kit caboodle of stuff to consider the case.

In my opinion I am selling no more than an electronic nicotine inhaler, note you can sell nicotine inhaler legally in shops.

Am I the first, could this be the beginning of the end for the electronic cigarette in the UK?]

Since then and the MHRA insisting marketing modifications, I have been investigated by trading standards and they required some modifications to the product. I have now been told by trading standards that I can continue selling the electronic cigarettes pending a reply by the department of health who are investigating the product.

Don’t kid yourself they know, and the sh** could fly any time soon.

[TropicalBob]

Welcome back, Elixer. I was hoping you'd update your battles.

Sorry you're still a target of your government. Over here, the FDA is under so much pressure from all fronts that e-smoking remains off the radar. Still, I expect a Congressman to speak out, then launch an investigation that will ultimately involve the FDA, FCC, EPA, Customs, SAT, NCAA, NAACP and the National Rifle Association (who will study the issue and decline further involvement in order to pursue a handgun on every hip).

Do keep us posted, please.

[QuietDave]

I have kept schtum so far certainly. I do have worries that it might last longer if we keep it to ourselves, but as has been pointed out, that's not possible. People are going to find out. They sell these things on high profile websites like I Want One Of Those (where I first saw the e-cig).

If people are going to find out anyway, surely better to prime the folk in charge with all the good information first? I mean the concept is brilliant. Surely nobody can argue with the concept of a replacement for cigarettes that isn't bad for you, doesn't affect people around you, yet satisfies and is easy to switch to. We have to sell the concept first before we worry about the current (temporary) flaws.

As for the rules about selling them elixir, isn't it just if you try to claim that they will help you quit that you are breaking the rules, as they haven't been proven to help you quit? I've always thought that is completely the wrong angle to use anyway. I was talking excitedly about e-cigarettes to a couple of smokers who had already seen some of the advertised ones, and they were clearly under the impression that they were purely for helping you to quit. They both laughed and said to me why would you bother getting an e-cigarette, why not just stop smoking! I think the real selling point is that they are a much less dangerous replacement for cigarettes that allows you to keep smoking, and that's how I reckon people should market them anyway.

As far as public awareness is concerned I think it's a good thing. For a start, the more people that start using them, the quicker that reports of people dropping dead from PG inhalation will start coming! (Urm, or not, to give the more positive angle, which I guess is what we are hoping for!)

To be honest, if the department of health investigates them and decides that they aren't safe, I'd like to know about that, and I'll make the decision to not use them until they make one that is safe. I am of course kind of trusting them to make the right judgement based on how safe they are compared to smoking tobacco, not compared to, say, breathing!

It's a tough one, but perhaps it's time to spread the good word without mentioning the worrying stuff!

[jamie]

A small cadre of ashamed esmokers guarantees failure. Not saying the other will guarantee success, but I know what will guarantee failure. Folks need a horse in the race to push back. Businesses with a revenue increase will push back. Medical/Cessation folks with successful patients will push back. Ex-smokers on ecigs, and their happier families will push back.